


Arthur's Apology

by doomcanary



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, arthur is an ass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-20
Updated: 2014-03-20
Packaged: 2018-01-16 08:25:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1338676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doomcanary/pseuds/doomcanary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pure fluff. Very mild spoilers for 1x07, but doormat!Merlin just made me sad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Arthur's Apology

“You know, I am going to get sick of doing what you tell me to some day.”

Merlin says it lightly, his back to Arthur as he mixes up a dose of the headache remedy Gaius sent him back with after he left, but Arthur – despite his pounding head – doesn't miss the fact there's something else going on underneath. He props himself up on his elbows, wincing. Merlin glances back over his shoulder.

Arthur opens his mouth to say something, and then stops. Merlin's supposed to do what Arthur tells him, isn't he? He's the prince. But a voice in the back of his mind says different.

 _He's right, you know_ , it says.

Arthur's always had that voice, but ever since Merlin arrived, it seems to have got louder, and more confident about its opinions. He's really starting to dislike it.

“It was a spell,” he says. “It wasn't _me_.”

Merlin's shoulders tense a bit.

 _Of course it wasn't_ , says that voice again. _It wasn't you who asked him to drink poison either._

No, it wasn't; but Merlin had done it anyway, hadn't he. There isn't much he won't do for Arthur, it seems.

_Die for you? Pfft; that's nothing, is it? You're a prince, after all._

Merlin might actually have a bit of a point, really.

“Merlin?”

Merlin turns, his blue eyes concerned, Gaius's medicine in a cup in his hand. Arthur pulls himself gingerly up in the bed, and leans against the headboard.

“Come here,” he says.

Merlin comes over, standing uncertainly by the bed.

“No,” says Arthur, more gently. “I mean, come here.” He lays a hand on the blanket, beside him. Merlin sits down on the edge of the bed. He looks even more uncertain.

“You ought to -” He holds out the cup. Arthur takes it, and knocks it back quickly; as he expected, it's sweetish, but with the bitter aftertaste of willow bark.

“Thanks,” he says. Merlin takes the cup out of his hand again.

Arthur steels himself. He's faced gryphons and cockatrices; this shouldn't be so hard.

“You're right,” he says. “I've been a bit of a shit about this.”

Merlin looks like he's the one who's sorry.

“It really was a spell,” he says.

“I'm not talking about that.”

And he's not, when it comes down to it. He's talking about the way he doesn't even have to ask Merlin to lay down his life for him; the fact that whatever he wants Merlin to do, Merlin will keep doing it until he nearly kills himself. It's been obvious Merlin cares about him for months, and Arthur -

Well, Arthur's been ignoring it, in the hopes that royal disdain will make it give up, remember its place, and go away. He doesn't think it's going to do that, now. He doesn't think _Merlin_ is going to do that. He's just going to keep half-killing himself for Arthur's sake, and it's time he got something back in return for that.

 _Oh, so you aren't completely stupid_ , says that voice in his head.

Merlin is still watching him, with those deep-blue eyes. He looks so honest sometimes. Arthur takes the cup from Merlin, and puts it down on the nightstand. His heart skips a bit, which makes his head throb even more, but he ignores the headache and tries not to let anything show as he reaches out, and takes Merlin's hand in his.

“Really,” he says. “Come here.”

Merlin looks totally startled for a moment, and then looks down at Arthur's hand, and up again – and Arthur realises he's done something right, because those open blue eyes are so full of amazement and delight, and it just makes him want to grin. He tugs at Merlin's hand, and Merlin follows; he ends up very close to Arthur, and Arthur is distracted for a moment by the faint warmth he can feel coming off Merlin.

“I mean it,” he says, determined not to be derailed. “I've been a real – prince. About the whole thing.”

Merlin's mouth quirks, and then he sits back, and laughs.

“Yeah, you have a bit,” he says.

There's a moment of silence, in which Arthur finds it oddly difficult to breathe.

“I might forgive you,” says Merlin, smiling.

He hasn't let go of Arthur's hand.

Arthur's heart beats even faster as he holds out his free arm, but Merlin just smiles even wider, and slides onto Arthur's lap. Arthur wraps his arms around Merlin's solid warmth, and Merlin tucks his head into the crook of Arthur's neck. Arthur's head is killing him, and he feels like he's just gone ten rounds with Valiant again, but he's smiling as he leans his cheek against Merlin's hair, because suddenly everything seems to be right with the world.

It wasn't so bad, really. Maybe tomorrow he'll see how kissing Merlin goes.


End file.
